scholarly journals D-Serine in Neurobiology: CNS Neurotransmission and Neuromodulation

2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 164-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanaa K. Bardaweel ◽  
Muhammed Alzweiri ◽  
Aman A. Ishaqat
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Human Physiology ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Living Systems ◽  
Cns Development ◽  
Human Central Nervous System ◽  
High Affinity ◽  
Aspartate Receptor ◽  
Living Organisms

Homochirality is fundamental for life. L-Amino acids are exclusively used as substrates for the polymerization and formation of peptides and proteins in living systems. However, D- amino acids were recently detected in various living organisms, including mammals. Of these D-amino acids, D-serine has been most extensively studied. D-Serine was found to play an important role as a neurotransmitter in the human central nervous system (CNS) by binding to the N-methyl- D-aspartate receptor (NMDAr). D-Serine binds with high affinity to a co-agonist site at the NMDAr and, along with glutamate, mediates several vital physiological and pathological processes, including NMDAr transmission, synaptic plasticity and neurotoxicity. Therefore, a key role for D-serine as a determinant of NMDAr mediated neurotransmission in mammalian CNS has been suggested. In this context, we review the known functions of D-serine in human physiology, such as CNS development, and pathology, such as neuro-psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases related to NMDAr dysfunction.

Sex Differences in Cognition

2019 ◽  
pp. 41-66
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Hampson
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Sex Differences ◽  
Spatial Cognition ◽  
Sex Steroids ◽  
Cognitive Functions ◽  
Laboratory Animals ◽  
Human Central Nervous System ◽  
The Brain

Organizational and activational effects of sex steroids were first discovered in laboratory animals, but these concepts extend to hormonal actions in the human central nervous system. This chapter begins with a brief overview of how sex steroids act in the brain and how the organizational-activational hypothesis originated in the field of endocrinology. It then reviews common methods used to study these effects in humans. Interestingly, certain cognitive functions appear to be subject to modification by sex steroids, and these endocrine influences may help explain the sex differences often seen in these functions. The chapter considers spatial cognition as a representative example because the spatial family of functions has received the most study by researchers interested in the biological roots of sex differences in cognition. The chapter reviews evidence that supports an influence of both androgens and estrogens on spatial functions, and concludes with a glimpse of where the field is headed.

scholarly journals Microglia control small vessel calcification via TREM2

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
pp. eabc4898
Author(s):  
Yvette Zarb ◽  
Sucheta Sridhar ◽  
Sina Nassiri ◽  
Sebastian Guido Utz ◽  
Johanna Schaffenrath ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Mouse Model ◽  
Vascular Calcification ◽  
Neurovascular Unit ◽  
Small Vessel ◽  
Vascular Pathology ◽  
Cns Development ◽  
Brain Calcification

Microglia participate in central nervous system (CNS) development and homeostasis and are often implicated in modulating disease processes. However, less is known about the role of microglia in the biology of the neurovascular unit (NVU). In particular, data are scant on whether microglia are involved in CNS vascular pathology. In this study, we use a mouse model of primary familial brain calcification, Pdgfbret/ret, to investigate the role of microglia in calcification of the NVU. We report that microglia enclosing vessel calcifications, coined calcification-associated microglia, display a distinct activation phenotype. Pharmacological ablation of microglia with the CSF1R inhibitor PLX5622 leads to aggravated vessel calcification. Mechanistically, we show that microglia require functional TREM2 for controlling vascular calcification. Our results demonstrate that microglial activity in the setting of pathological vascular calcification is beneficial. In addition, we identify a previously unrecognized function of microglia in halting the expansion of vascular calcification.

Humoral immune responses within the human central nervous system following systemic immunization

1986 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 205-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magnhild Sandberg-Wollheim ◽  
Burton Zweiman ◽  
Arnold I. Levinson ◽  
Robert P. Lisak
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Immune Responses ◽  
Human Central Nervous System ◽  
Humoral Immune ◽  
Humoral Immune Responses

Simulations of Synaptic Transmission Using Lattice Boltzmann Methods

2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mehrak Mahmoudi ◽  
Piroz Zamankhan ◽  
William Polashenski
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Theoretical Model ◽  
Lattice Boltzmann ◽  
Chemical Substance ◽  
Human Central Nervous System ◽  
Lattice Boltzmann Methods ◽  
Nerve Impulses ◽  
System A ◽  
The Central Nervous System

The nervous system remains one of the least understood biological structures due in large part to the enormous complexity of this organ. A theoretical model for the transfer of nerve impulses would be valuable for the analysis of various phenomena in the nervous system, which are difficult to study by experiments. The central nervous system is composed of more than 100 billion neurons, through which information is transmitted via nerve impulses. Nerve impulses are not immediately apparent since each impulse may be blocked during transmission, changed from a single impulse into repetitive impulse, or integrated with impulses from other neurons to form highly intricate patterns. In the human central nervous system, a neuron secretes a chemical substance called a neurotransmitter at the synapse, and this transmitter in turn acts on another neuron to cause excitation, inhibition, or some other modification of its sensitivity.

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